The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
As we celebrate his birthday, these powerful words of Martin Luther King, Jr. seem more relevant today than at any moment in my lifetime.
As this week when Donald Trump will be inaugurated President of the United States begins, I feel like I am living in a foreign land now ruled by people whose values and commitments I not only don’t share, but make me feel like an enemy.
Trump Republicans have made it clear that they don’t like me and people like me. They have no desire to work with me or us, to try to find common ground on anything.
They see me and people like me as the cause of everything they believe is wrong with America, so they want to drive us out, if not literally, then certainly in terms of political power. I honestly believe they would put me and everyone like me in jail if they thought they could get away with it.
I am reminded of the Psalmist’s words, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and there we wept…and our captors asked us for songs…[but] how can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land” (137).
Indeed, how can anyone sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land, real or imagined?
Trump people are not simply members of the opposing political party. They are people I don’t trust any more than they trust me. I see and hear their hatred and divisiveness, their “us verses them” attitude, their fake patriotism and their Americanized faith, and I know with certainty that I do not share anything in common with them.
We live in the same land in name only. The America they believe in and the America I believe in are not the same. We are a divided people who no longer share common values and common commitments.
What, then, am I to do, we to do? Those of us who know the Lord’s song of equality and justice for all, how can we sing that in the America of today?
I don’t know the answer to that question, but as I have thought about these things I was driven to something Jesus said that clearly speaks to the situation all of us not Trump Republicans face: “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
To be honest, I wish he had never said that, but he did, and because I take him seriously I cannot ignore it. The question I face as one feeling like a stranger in a foreign land is whether or not I am who I say I am.
I would be less than truthful if I said I am, but I have not given up on wanting to be. That is why these words about unconditional love have gotten my attention. Because of the way I feel about what has happened to our country, what would it mean to try to practice loving my “enemies.”
Here is what I think his words mean practically.
(1) Not being vengeful. Some people say they will treat Trump the way he and his supporters treated President Obama. I want to do that, but it would contradict the claim doing love makes on me.
(2) Not becoming like the enemies I feel like I am facing. I don’t want to have the kind of mind, heart, and soul I believe Trump Republicans have. Our nation needs fewer of them, not more.
(3) Standing firm without anger. Anger is something I feel a lot, but if I am not careful it will get in the way of taking a stand for what is right, just, and loving. If my anger controls me, love has no chance to be seen or heard.
(4) Choosing reason over emotions. When talking to Trump Republicans, emotions can easily get the best of me. Unless I choose to allow reason to guide my responses to them, I will lose the argument no matter what I say.
(5) Holding my enemies accountable. Love demands that I call them out and challenge any unfounded claims they make. Refusing to speak and act is to betray the demands of love.
(6) Never give up on the power of truth. I feel like I am living in a nation that no longer values knowledge, but exalts the lack thereof. It is a dangerous path to follow. As Dr. King also noted: Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Both exist in abundance today, and it can be discouraging. But doing love demands that I never give up believing in the power of truth.
(7) Remembering that this conflict is about me as much as it is about my enemies. My responses will, as Dr. King said, reveal as much about my character as their actions reveal about theirs.
(8) Nurturing a right spirit in me. Personal prayer, meditation, and the practice of silence are ways I can nurture a right spirit in me that will help me do love.
(9) Praying for my enemies. This is the worst part of what Jesus said. Yet I know conditional love with various kinds of boundaries is pseudo-love and not what he was talking about. I am not sure how to pray for them, but I am willing to trust that the way will become clear if I try.
These ways to practice living by the ethic of love are not easy, of course, but Dr. King also said something in a sermon that makes me believe they represent the right road, less travelled as it may be: Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
The ethic of love is to choose light over darkness. So that is the choice I am making, even though I feel like I am having do so as a stranger in my own land.
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